Thursday, December 18, 2014

I love eggnog. It is one of my favorite winter drinks. That's right, not just for Christmas but from November until February I'm rocking the nog when the spirits (and there are plenty of spirits) pique my fancy.

It wasn't always this way. When I was younger, eggnog was a detestable drink. Thick, viscous, overly sweet and oddly flavored sludge was what we were served from a waxed cardboard carton every year. At least the adults got to drink that bullshit with a few shots of Seagram's 7 to thin it out and give it some natural flavor. Ahhhh memories.

It was about seven or eight years ago that I started making my own on a whim. I knew that the real stuff had to be worth trying and with no magical eggnog yak around to milk, I was on a mission.

The first batch I made, cobbled together like an alcoholic Frankenstein from various recipes, was a revelation. Real nog was fresh, bright, clean and pleasantly high octane. I was hooked.

Since then I have honed this franken-recipe to be my own while and now I'm here to share it with you wonderful people.

The recipe, as you can see, has been painstakingly preserved for both it's penmanship as well as it's spelling. The Rheb's phone number is a small token of my affection.

By the way; I will be doubling this recipe for our purposes. The double recipe makes a volume that is great to give a bunch away while also having enough to get you good and ready to be merry and bright.

2 whole nutmegs - Yes, I realize it says 4 teaspoons nutmeg in the recipe and that would be 8 teaspoons but if you can get them I highly recommend using whole nutmeg and grinding whole nutmegs in a coffee grinder. Seriously, it makes the biggest difference in the whole recipe.

1. Combine the sugar and the egg yolks. Whisk together until well combined and yolks take on a pale yellow color.

2. Add nutmeg and booze to the yolks. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

3. Add the milk and whisk until everything is combined.

4. Combine the nog base and the whites and blend until smooth. I use a hand blender. I find it does a better job than a whisk and it keeps the drink frothy.

5. Have a drink, you deserve it. Take the rest, bottle it (I like to use a growler with an airtight cap) and place it into the fridge. Once it is chill you can drink as much as you want (within reason). Enjoy!

This will taste of bourbon and brandy in the beginning, but after a day it will mellow out (if it lasts that long). After it spends the night in the fridge the alcohol is there but not forward enough to knock you on your ass after a few sips. Two or three glasses will do you well (one or two if you don't drink a lot). There will be some nutmeg residue at the bottom of your glass but that's OK. It's the badge of honor of a true nog.